just the two of us
by congrats-its-a-nerd
Summary: Hiro and Tadashi are only children trying to make their way in a dead world. Zombie/Last of Us inspired AU.
1. good luck

**Title:** just the two of us

**Genre:** _Angst, Drama, Tragedy, Family, Friendship, Adventure, Horror_

**Rating:** _T_

**Synopsis:** _Hiro and Tadashi are only children trying to make their way in a dead world. Zombie/Last of Us inspired AU._

**Warning/s:** _Gore, Violence, Guns, Swearing, Mentions of Sexual Assault/Harassment, Gender Issues, Injuries to Children, Slurs, the Undead, occasional uses of Japanese words_

**Author's Note:** _First story on this account - hurray. I wrote this on a whim after buying an 'Art of The Last of Us' book. It's basically just short stories all relating to the not-so Hamada bros' survival in a post-apocalyptic world. There may or may not be a plot - unless you ask, then maybe plot shall occur? I'm a sporadic writer, so there are no promises. Also - translation for other language words will be at end._

_Also, another note; the Hamada brothers aren't really related in this fic. Long story short - Tadashi's dad married Hiro's mom when Hiro was already born from another father, and Tadashi was already born from another mother. So they both have different parents, and yada yada yada. Now onwards with the story._

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><p>The first thing Tadashi remembers is the sound of his parents' voice.<p>

They're arguing about something - the sickness that was on the news yesterday, most likely. (_He's only six years of age, but he's smarter and more observant than everyone takes him for._)

He's sitting on top of the stairs, cradling his new sibling born just months ago, as he strains his ears to listen.

The only words he can make out are 'infectious', 'dangerous', and 'dying'.

Then the two children are ushered into their car, and they drive away, never once looking back as Tadashi left the (_only_) home he knew.

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><p>The second thing Tadashi can only vaguely recall are the hushed murmurings of their parents sitting in the front seat as they shift through various radio stations.<p>

His younger sibling is still in his arms. He acts like nothing's wrong at all, but he knows the severity of the situation. Tadashi can only give the smaller hand in his a comforting squeeze.

Then someone (_he can barely remember what they looked like, the only thing that really stuck with him was the fact that they were wearing a red V-neck in the middle of winter_) runs in front of them, and his mother (_or maybe his father, everything is just so foggy at this point_) screams.

Then his world turns sideways before fading to black.

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><p>"Hey Hiro, check this out." A kind smile on his face, Tadashi Hamada - ten years old - gestured over from behind a half-rotten log. "It's really cool. I think you'll want to see it."<p>

"I bet it's stupid. Like Ta-_baka_-_nii_." Hiro Takachiho - six years old - frowned, walking with purposely slow and heavy steps as the fallen leaves around him crinkled at his weight. He huffed, taking a seat next to his older brother.

The older boy pouted, affectionately ruffling the child's hair. "Aw, c'mon Hiro. I apologized for the pine cone incident yesterday, didn't I? Anyway, it's over there," he pointed to the small creek a few meters away from their hiding spot. "You see it?"

"...the deer?"

"Nope. Try on top of the deer."

"It's antlers?"

"Try again."

"...I give up."

Tadashi groaned. "Think outside the box _otouto_. _Look at it from another angle_."

Hiro sighed at his brother's eagerness to see - well, whatever it was his older brother wanted to check out. The younger lad squinted his eyes, trying to make any out-of-place shapes in the mass of towering trees, overgrown grass, and fallen autumn leaves. Other than the slightly rare sight of both a deer and a sparkling clear creek, the boy just simply couldn't see anything worth getting excited about.

That was when he decided to take his brother's advice because - why not?

'_Alright, so if I can't see anything wrong with the shapes... Guess I should try looking at the colors?_'

He looked at the forest again with a more scrutinizing eye. Dull brown trees with bits of dark green moss scattered around its trunks, various hues of orange leaves littered across the ground, the light - practically clear - blue water flowing through the creek with grey stones dotting the waterbed, the lively brown of a deer's hide followed by the same dirty white shade its antlers usually had with a spot of blue - everything looked to be in order.

Hiro paused. '_Wait... A blue spot?_'

The boy looked at the antlers again, focusing on the out-of-place dot of blue perched on top. As each second passed, the spot became clearer and clearer until finally, a silent gasp escaped his throat.

"I-Is that a _blue_ bird? Is that even possible?"

Tadashi let out a pleased chuckle. "Finally saw it, huh? It was a little hard to spot, but I knew you'd figure it out eventually." He rested a gentle hand on his brother's head. "That's my genius _otouto_ for you."

Hiro turned to his brother, hazelnut eyes wide and almost sparkling in innocent wonder and amazement. "You know what it is? What's it called? Did people dye it? How is it blue? Tell me Tada-_nii_!"

"Well for starters, people actually do called those birds 'bluebirds'. It's a pretty simple name, but I guess that's because the bird was kinda common back then. Everywhere you look, you'd see at least one bluebird sitting on top of a branch or flying off somewhere." The elder glanced up at the sky, a sad expression on his face. "Now though, it's a miracle if you can even spot one no matter where you are. Kinda like dogs and cats..."

The six year-old looked at his brother curiously. "Dogs and cats?"

"It's nothing." He turned his attention back to the small bird sitting atop the deer. "By the way, did you know that people thought bluebirds were a sign of good luck?"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. Seeing a bird that special is definitely a good sign!" Tadashi stood up, brushing himself off as he grinned at the smaller boy. "That's why we should keep on moving. We're already half-way through the forest; a little more and we can finally find a good place to sleep for the night."

Hiro looked down, the look of a kicked puppy on his face. "I-It's not too late... Can't we stay for a little while longer?"

His older brother's heart melted, torn between keeping his only family happy, and playing it on the safe side and leaving before it got dark. He bit his lip, glancing at the cloud-filled sky, then at his little brother.

"You don't need to worry! Besides," the younger took hold of the older boy's arm, desperate for his brother's agreement. "You'll protect me, right Tada-_nii_?"

Tadashi took a reluctant look back, then let out a defeated sigh. A forced smile stretched across his lips. "...Okay, but just only for a couple minutes, alright?"

Hiro cheered, wrapping his brother a tight hug. "ありがとう Tada-_nii!_ You're the best!"

A genuine smile appeared on the elder's lips as he hugged back, lightly petting his younger brother's messy mop of black hair. "Sure. If I were you though, I wouldn't talk so loud. You might scare the animals away."

The dark-haired boy opened his mouth in shock, then looked across the creek to make sure both the deer and bird were still there. Reassured by sight of the deer calmly drinking from the steady flow of water and the bluebird still sitting on top of its antlers, the younger quickly dropped down and hid behind the log, giving his amused older brother a 'shush' gesture.

Hiro, distracted in wonder of the animals, missed the low groan the seemed to come from a short distance away.

Twitching nervously, Tadashi moved his dominant hand towards his belt, the familiar feel of metal tightly squeezed under his fists.

His eyes narrowed dangerously at his surroundings, silently vowing to never let anything happen to his innocent baby brother. Not while he lived - and even in death, he swore to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who even thought of harming the little boy with a tooth gap.

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><p><em><strong>Translations:**_

**Otouto:** Little brother

**Tada-nii:** Older brothers are often referred to as 'nii-san', and some little siblings in Japan shorten the names of their older siblings to turn it into [name]-nii for older brothers, and [name]-ne for older sisters. It can be seen as a sign for particularly close siblings to some.

**Baka** - Dummy/Idiot.

**ありがとう** - Arigato/Thank you! _(I used Japanese text because it actually didn't look right to me in romaji, I apologize.)_

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><p><strong>Closing Notes: <strong>¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sorry it's short, but it's actually like 1000-something words? I don't like too many words in a single line, so it looks short, I'm sorry. If you like it or want more, you can send a review or PM me if you want. If you wanna see something in the story, you can send me a prompt or an idea. I'm open to almost anything so yeah.


	2. winter

**Chapter 2: **_winter_

**Warning/s:** _Violence, Death Mention, Guns, Child Injury, Slurs_

**Author's Note:** _Alrightalrightalrightalrightalright._

_(This actually isn't the original 2nd chapter I wrote, I was just so unsatisfied with what I finished I came up with a new one on the spot sssssssh;;;; Sorry it's short, I'm actually on a time limit and I didn't want to leave you guys without anything so/)_

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><p>"Oh <em>kami<em>," Tadashi - seventeen - gasped, the biting cold of winter whipping at his uncovered skin as he ran through the snow-covered roads of a ghost town. The little boy - thirteen - sitting atop his back - conscious yet not fully there, could only shiver, a pained whimper escaping small, pale lips. "_Kami, kami, kami, kami..!_"

Shots rang out from behind the pair, the teen yelping in fear as he picked up in speed, angry curses and shouts growing louder with each passing second.

_"COME BACK HERE YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"_

_"YOU FUCKING WHORE, WE'RE NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!"_

_"GIVE US OUR DAMN SLUT BACK!"_

He forced his eyes shut and threw himself forward, trying desperately to ignore the bubbling rage in his stomach; _(because how dare they, his brother was more than that)_ the absolute _need_ to just twist around and shoot copious amounts of lead into their shit-filled mouths. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his free hand around the gun on his belt, wanting nothing more for _their_ blood to be splattered across icy cement-

Then Hiro coughed, pressing his frighteningly cold body closer to the teen. All the hatred disappeared in that moment as Tadashi was reminded of his purpose - his sole reason for trying to make his way in a world so broken and dark.

"Don't worry," he muttered, releasing his grip on the pistol. It dangled loosely in its holster as he continued running from his pursuers. The elder no longer knew who he was trying to comfort. (_him, or his little brother? In the end, it made no difference_) "It's gonna be alright, I promise."

The preteen on his back nodded wordlessly, his smaller hands clinging to the material of his brother's shirt as if it were his lifeline.

A weathered barn peeked out from just beyond the road, and a small glimmer of hope grew in Tadashi's chest.

They were going to make it.

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><p>The hat-wearing teen grunted as he gently laid his younger brother on top of a small bed of hay, the pair having just escaped their pursuers and currently trying to recuperate in the abandoned farmhouse. His politeness thrown out of the window in a panic-fueled frenzy, the elder quickly went to work practically tearing the blood-soaked shirt off the smaller boy.<p>

In a horrifying heartbeat, Tadashi almost stopped breathing.

Hiro had been shot twice - in the stomach, and chest.

Fear sucker-punching him in chest, the teen found himself unable to move - just staring as his little brother breathed. (_for what could be the last time_)

Then the boy turned his head, an expression of pure agony clearly written on his face, snapping the elder back to reality. Tears prickled the corners of the younger's eyes as he heaved, his breaths turning into shallow, ragged gasps. He looked up at his brother and said with a tone Tadashi would rather **_die_** than hear again, (_because no child should ever say anything like that_)

_"Am I going to die?"_

Almost automatically, the teen shook his head and sought out his brother's pale hand, grasping it in his as he choked back a sob. "No," he whimpered. He was begging now. "I'll save you, I swear."

A steady stream of tears fell from his face, wetting the straws of hay beneath his brother. "I'm _never_ going to give up on you Hiro."

The boy simply nodded, a warm smile despite everything on his face, as milk chocolate eyes fluttered shut. "Thanks Tada-nii."

Tadashi didn't sleep that night.

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><p><strong>Closing Notes:<strong> _EURGH _

_I SWEAR TO GOD I NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK BECAUSE AS I WORKED ON THIS, MY COMPUTER SHUT DOWN JUST AS I SAVED THANK THE LORD GOD IS REAL/_

_If you have any questions, feel free to leave a review or PM me! _


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